Hair update: a new twist!

Hello lovely followers,
Anyone who has been following my blog for a bit now are very aware that i cannot just leave my hair colour alone!  I jump from different colours all the time, whenever i get bored and just want an update!

my most recent change was adding a slight ombre to my hair. I'm aware that its 'out' of fashion recently, and I know everyone and their mother has had this hairstyle (including me previously) but i feel like its a really nice way to update your hair without going too drastic.  Its often quite flattering as well.

I used the L'oreal Wild Ombre box kit for light to dark brown hair.

image from superdrug.com

Although the kit says just to start from 2/3's of the way down and brush the bleach through, i ignored that. I recommend adding the bleach to the tips, waiting 10 minutes, then work the bleach a little further up, again, wait 10 minutes and work the bleach just above that. Continue with this technique until you reach where you want your ombre to stop. Working your way up from the bottom to the mid sections gives a really nice graduated effect, with much lighter tips, especially with the brush they provide in the kit! You could use any bleaching kit and a comb for the same effect :)

So, here's my new hair!

And can i just say, the quadruple weft extensions i'm wearing here from Crown and Glory extensions have been dyed brown twice, and then ombre-d, and they're still in amazing condition! I use heat on them all the time.  I definitely recommend checking their extensions out, look how shiny they are!

December favourites!

Hello lovely followers,
i hope you all had an amazing New year's and 2013 has been good to you so far! I personally am so glad 2012 is over, it was a horrible year for me.

But nevermind that, here are my December favourites:

1.  Smashbox Bronze lights in 'Suntan Matte'.  

Ever since my NARS laguna bronzer broke, i have been searching for another matte bronzer. Unfortunately i am in Dubai at the moment and i can't find NARS anywhere so i checked out the smashbox bronzers.  I really love this one, its perfect for contouring (which is what i used laguna for) and it also has antioxidants built into it. I accidently dropped mine a few hours after buying it and it didnt break (thank god).  

2. L'oreal Studio secrets Pro lip tint in 30 Fashion Fuchsia

I've been looking for a lip tint for a while now, and even though the Revlon ones are quite popular, i stumbled across this whilst looking through the l'oreal section in boots.  I LOVE the colour! Its just the colour i was looking for. It gives a raspberry/dark pink tint to the lips and works so well with my skin tone. The colour lasts quite long, and it even tastes like raspberries! My only issue with it is that you really have to layer it up because the pen nip on it is quite dry, but im not sure if its just because i picked up a damaged one.

3. L'oreal Caresse Lipstick in 101 tempting lilac

I've been looking for a more nude pink, but because my lips are naturally quite pigmented its hard to find a shade that doesn't make me look washed out/dead.  This colour is gorgeous! It actually reminds me so much of Snob by MAC, although snob has more lilac undertones. It goes on smoothly and has great lasting power :)

4. Sally Hansen Hard a Nails

My nails were becoming quite brittle recently due to wearing acrylic nails quite often (to stop me from biting my own, gross i know). I was in TK Maxx and came across this beauty! I put this on my nails as a base coat, and not only does it protect and strengthen my nails, but it also helps to prevent chipping!

5. Elf Make up: Mist and set

I've been looking for a setting spray for a while as my skin is quite dry so setting powder just makes my face look cakey.  When i was purchasing some other Elf products online i found this and decided to give it a try. I love it! It gives my skin a dewy finish without drying it out, and the extra benefits of the spray such as aloe, cucumber extract , green tea and vitamins A,C and E prevent my skin from feeling and looking too dry.  The perfect way for me to set my make up! My only issue is the nozzle of the bottle doesn't spray evenly and you have to go round and spray sections of your face to make sure its all covered. But for the price you pay (£3) its not really a problem!

6. Sally Hansen: No chip 10 day colour in Red October

Another Sally Hansen nail polish that i found on offer in an outlet make up store, this colour is GORGEOUS. Its a metallic deep red and a nail colour that can be worn all year round. As for the 10 day no chip, i'm not sure if thats true because i bite my nails, they always chip. But i would definitely recommend this! It dries well and you only need 2 coats for the full colour.

7. Naked 2 palette by Urban decay

I have been waiting a LONG time for this palette! I bought this back in November and i have been using it non stop ever since. I love the original naked palette, as well as this one. I usually mix the two for my eyeshadow looks! I am really happy that this palette featured 3 matte shades this time as well in foxy (highlight), tease (crease) and black out (crease).  The palette is full of stunning colours, but they are definitely cooler tones than the original naked palette. All in all, definitely worth the price! 

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper 

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

What are your December favourites?

SORRY! update, Dubai and christmas 2012

ahhh! i've been M.I.A for over a month now! I know i'm rubbish :(

This past month has been insanely busy for me, not only have i been buried underneath a pile of uni work, i've been pretty ill this term :( but i'm finally back home in Dubai for the christmas holiday!  Its amazing being back home, loving the sunshine, insane amount of swedish food and being with my family.

loving the sunshine and beach!

I actually haven't had a camera either as my olympus has been having problems but i got a new one for christmas so plenty of posts to come in the near future!

Christmas was amazing :) i absolutely love being home with my family! Because i'm swedish, we celebrate on the 24th evening instead.  We had a massive christmas dinner with all our traditional foods such as salmon, herring, christmas ham, meatballs and prinskorv :)  strange, i know! but its what im used to! Followed by opening our pressies :)

me (left) and my sister in front of the tree!

our christmas tree :)

swedish christmas dinner

Christmas loot!  I'll be posting a haul ASAP.

hope you all had a lovely christmas!

Mallzee launch!

I was approached by mallzee to feature their new site in my blog, I've joined and it really does look amazing!

I know it might seem like a 'promo' post but i wouldn't promote something if i didn't like the idea of it!

It is described as "all about creating a new experience for shopping online. Users create their own personalised shopping mall (Mallzee) by picking their favourite brands and stores. Our fancy software then finds products matching their personal style and showcases them in their Mallzee! There are a number of aspects that make Mallzee social from the integration of Facebook chat to creating polls and browsing friends online wardrobes.  An added bonus to inviting friends to your mallzee is that as the ‘owner’ you earn money every time anyone buys from your Mallzee, including you! (That's right you get paid when you shop?)"

It really does sound like a great concept. I hate searching all the different websites when shopping online, and with mallzee, it combines all those shops whilst picking up on your personal style as well! Its more like social networking combined with shopping (great for bloggers!) So far they have over 200 brands that will be available (including urban outfitters, new look, feel unique, st tropez and so many more).

The website hasn't launched yet, but you can sign up to join HERE!

It only takes a couple of seconds, and they're even having a competition to win £100 to spend once it launches :D  i know i've entered!

Will you be joining mallzee?

Eating healthy on a student budget!

Hello lovely followers,

Now i know that being a uni student, it's quite hard to eat healthily, and can quite be hard on the pocket. Most of the time its easier for us to whack a microwave meal in the oven and be done with it! But there are ways in which you can eat healthier on a student budget!

By no means am i a dietician or telling you to do this, but this has worked great for me.


1. i buy fresh meat and freeze it.  I find that buying 5 turkey steaks (that are quite large) dividing them into 2, makes 10 meals. This also helps with portion control. You can even buy bags of frozen chicken breasts sometimes for about £2, they're great but they're often injected with water in order to appear bigger and then shrink once cooked. Like i mentioned before, try to envision your plate like this:

2. Frozen fruit and vegetables. These are a saviour. I know most people will think 'frozen? how is that healthy?' but there is research to say that they are just as good for you as fresh. Here's an article on why. By buying frozen vegetables, you're already saving money. Fresh vegetables can be expensive, especially if they're not in season, and obviously there isnt much time for you to eat them. Frozen berries also go great with natural low fat yoghurt, or even just as a snack. they're like little ice lollies :-) If you can afford to buy them fresh, then by all means go for it, but if you're on a budget, frozen is great! You can eat a small portion of turkey and then load on the vegetables!

3. If you must buy your vegetables fresh, a great place to buy them is your local market! Often they're much cheaper and you may even find a wider selection. I know the Cardiff market has a great vegetable stand and is pretty cheap!

4. Buying 'filler' foods. These are foods such as rice, bread or pasta. Now this doesn't mean going out and buying a tonne of white bread and pasta, keep it whole grain! White breads and other white carbs are terrible for you!  I tend to pick a healthy carb that i can 'fill' my food with. Such as wholegrain or brown rice. An example of this is that i'll cook half a cup of brown rice, and eat it with  turkey chunks, spinach and tomatoes with a dash of soy sauce. Fillings like these are cheap. However, try not to overload on carbs, and overload more on the vegetables!

5. Cook  large batches of food, and freeze extras for meals. This is great because a) it saves on cooking time, and b) it means you can make larger batches of healthy food, and stretch out how long they'll keep.

6. Ditch the take away menus! Having them in your house or within your reaching distance is often a reason why you order take away. Just think of all the terrible things that go into that kebab they're serving you!

I hope these tips helped, what ways do you try to keep healthy on a budget?

Student discount

If you're a poor student like me, you need every little bit of discount you get!

if you live in the UK, this site is great for you! Discount on all the stores you wouldn't usually get.
Most students don't have have NUS cards, which a lot of the time websites like ASOS use for student discount. Using this website, you can get discount with ASOS, urban outfitters, cath kidston, topshop and so many more!

here's the link :

http://www.myunidays.com/r/Axw0UyIQ9-4

check it out!

my top 5 products for soft and healthy hair!

Hello lovely followers,

Its apparent from my blog that i love to dye my hair and change it up quite often. Unfortunately, this also comes with damage to my hair, and split ends! I am also guilty of over styling with heat tools such as straighteners, curlers and blow drying.

However, i have found some great products that keep your hair looking healthy, shiny and soft!

1. Aussie 3 minute miracle, take the heat: deep treatment

I love this product, not only does it smell AMAZING, but it keeps my fine and thin hair baby soft whilst also building in heat protection.  So once i get out of the shower and blow dry my hair, its already protected from the heat! It lasts quite a long time as well as you only need a little. I would recommend leaving it for 3 minutes or more for optimal softness.

2. Aussie Miracle hair insurance: leave in conditioner

As soon as i have towel dried my hair, i spray this through it generously! I know it may sound a bit much using deep conditioner and then leave in conditioner, but it really keeps my hair health and to protect it from further damage! It also detangles my hair as its prone to tangling!

3. Tangle teezer

image from adorn-hair.co.uk

This is by far THE best hair brush i've ever had! i original got it because i had micro bead extensions installed in my hair, but i've been using it every day since! it just detangles my hair so well, with little to no breakage or damage! it literally just glides through my hair! Unfortunately they are expensive, ranging at about 12.99 but i feel like its an investment! This is a product i can't live without.  Its also perfect for brushing through your extensions!

4. L'oreal Elvive Extraordinary oil

I spoke about this product in my october favourites! It makes my hair so soft and shiny! Its quite versatile, its almost like a serum but it can also be used as a deep conditioning product. I like to use it whilst my hair is still damp, and work it into my mid lengths and ends. Its great to use just before you blow dry your hair, and will give you that soft and fluffy hair with extra shine.

5.  V05 heat protect

I use this every time i use any heated styling tools! It smells amazing too :-)  Even though the deep conditioner i use has heat protect built in, it can't hurt to have that little bit extra help! I just spritz this through my hair right before, comb through and then i'm ready to go with my straightener. Its not a particularly well known heat protector but i really enjoy it 

What are your top hair products?